A TEENAGER from Castle Bromwich has won £5,000 in a competition for ideas on how satellites could improve life on Earth.
Kari Lawler’s entry to the UK Space Agency’s SatelLife Challenge was for an application that detects changes and patterns across the globe which could be used to identify the causes of natural disasters to help prevent them in the future.
The 15-year-old said: “What drew me to the SatelLife Challenge was a genuine interest in finding out what satellite data was available and how I could use artificial intelligence to analyse that data to improve life here on Earth.
“To be acknowledged and rewarded for presenting the idea of using artificial intelligence to support data analysis was completely unexpected. In fact, to be chosen as one of the winners means a great deal and gives me the encouragement to further my journey into exploring how AI can improve life here on Earth.”
The SatelLife Challenge supports the development of science, data handling and technological skills, complementing the Government’s Year of Engineering campaign which is championing careers in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to the next generation.
Science Minister Sam Gyimah said: “The UK leads the world in building satellites and we want to encourage young people like those entering this competition to get involved in every part of our thriving space sector.
“The creative use of data from space can solve many challenges and help establish successful businesses. It’s a vital part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy to back the entrepreneurs of tomorrow as we build an economy that’s fit for the future.”
The competition was split into three age groups: 11 to 16; 16 to 18 and 18 to 22, with seven entries from across the age categories winning £5,000.
The judging panel was made up of experts from the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Satellite Applications Catapult in Harwell and industry.
All nine winning entries will be able to pitch their idea to a panel of ‘dragons’ from the space sector.
